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The Hamas government in Gaza on Thursday said that the verdict of an Egyptian military court against five Palestinian fishermen is a “serious” development, demanding the Egyptian authorities reconsider the verdict.

A Military court in Ismailia on Wednesday sentenced the fishermen to five years in prison for trespassing Egyptian territorial waters, a military source told AFP.

The source said the army arrested the fishermen near Rafah, but did not specify the date of arrest.

Hamas had said that the Egyptian naval forces on 30 August opened fire at Palestinian fishing boats off the coast of Rafah, a city divided into two parts, one in the southern Gaza Strip and the other in the northern Sinai, wounding two fishermen and arresting five others.

It is not clear whether the five who were sentenced to imprisonment are the same five that were arrested.

Hamas spokesperson Ihab al-Ghasin said in a press statement that the verdict would increase tension between Hamas and Egypt, and was a serious development by the Egyptian authorities towards the Palestinians.